Kabir Khan’s official adaptation of Alejandro Gomez Monteverde’s Little Boy stutters and staggers in retelling the story of a boy’s deluded perception of war and his ability to end it. For one, the little boy in this film is our XXL-sized bhai who interprets his differently-abled character by clubbing pain and confusion in every expression — possibly a result of being forced into a sweater a few sizes smaller. While Little Boy demonstrated the fact that belief and conviction can move mountains, Tubelight features a baby-talking adult who’s bedazzled by a pair of boots that he calls “sooj”.

In the fictional hilly hamlet of Jagatpur, brothers Bharat Singh Bisht (Sohail Khan) and Laxman (Salman Khan) share an idyllic life — playing cricket, riding horses while holding hands and grinning profusely and pointlessly. That Laxman doesn’t have his mental faculties running optimally, earns him the moniker
Tubelight, which, as they explain, lights up only after flickering nervously for a while. When Bharat responds to the nation’s call by signing up for the army and is commissioned to the war against China (set against the 1962 war), Laxman seems scattered. But then, accidentally attending magician Gogo Pasha’s performance alters him. The act has him successfully move a bottle with the force of his mind and he begins to stubbornly believe that if you have
‘yakeen’, impossible is nothing — even bringing home the troops by ending the war. A side plot features a Chinese origin Indian child and his mother — ostracized by most in light of the volatile times — being befriended by Laxman because “Hindi-Cheeni-bhai-bhai”. Does Bharat return from war? Does Laxman manage to move audiences by releasing the floodgates if not with the power of his mind? Will this film help casual racism become socially acceptable? Some questions shouldn’t be answered.

Perhaps a reason why the makers felt this film would resonate with Indian audiences is because we’re possibly as myopic, judgmental and casual racists today as Americans were during WW2 (the period depicted in Little Boy). Point of fact — that the young Chinese boy in the film is called Gu is sufficient material for multiple gags. And once we’re done with Gu, pronouncing his relative Li Tsu as Lychee should hold up the corners of our lips.

Playing a specially-abled character onscreen is a gamble — a little excess could translate as caricature, a little less could be read as lack of effort. While Salman Khan crinkles his face with much determination to furnish this desi Gump, cumulatively, it doesn’t add up. That Khan had redeemed himself in the last few years and had with every film, inched closer to becoming an actor from a star, feels like a wasted cause as this one reverses that evolution. In certain scenes, he appears so puzzled, dazed and disconnected, even Sohail Khan seems like an actor with conviction while sharing the screen with him. The late Om Puri is in great form as the affable Bannu Chacha and doesn’t drop the ball even for a single frame. Playing a magician in his cameo, Shah Rukh Khan's sequence is a frame-by-frame ‘adaptation’ of the original.

While none of the songs will find a place in your memory, let alone your heart, the background music could assist babies doze off.

Director Kabir Khan admitted in an interview that the objective of this cinematic tribute was to make the inspiring story accessible to a larger audience. And while Salman fans across the world would make for a substantial target, inflicting them with this preachy tale of leaning on
‘yakeen’ to get through life could be a tad misleading. But then again, we’re addressing hardcore Bhai fans, who feel that hanging one’s shades over the back of one’s collar is the path to ultimate glory.
Read Also:Tubelight movie trailer: Salman Khan shines in Kabir Khan's brotherly love story

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